ShotSpotter Blog

As the global leader in gunfire detection, SST Inc. has unique insights into the nature and cadence of gunshot data. Our annual National Gunfire Index detected and analyzed a staggering 54,699 gunshot incidents for 2015.

Our National Gunfire Index delivers objective urban gunfire incident data that clearly demonstrates that gun violence in the U.S. is much greater than that which is typically measured in terms of homicides and non-fatal shootings alone. The report spells out the “inconvenient truth” about gun violence in terms of scale, intensity and most importantly, the potentially catastrophic consequences if not effectively addressed.

• On a regional basis, cities in the Northeast region saw the biggest decline in gun violence (27.1 percent decrease) followed by those in the West (with a 22.0 percent drop) in gunfire incidents over the same time period.

• Gunfire incidents for the 46 cities that had full ShotSpotter deployments in 2014 and 2015 declined by a median of 12.8 percent in 2015.

Other Key Findings:

• December 25, Christmas Day, was the most intense single day of gunfire incidents (excluding New Years Eve, New Year’s Day and Fourth of July) in 2015 with 266 incidents nationwide.

• The single busiest hour for gunfire activity during 2015 was Sunday, November 1 between 11:00 PM, which had 24 gunfire incidents.

• The most active day and hour of the week for all cities during 2015 was Saturday at 2:00 am.

• The highest rate of gunfire is in the Midwest with an average of 351.9 gunfire incidents per square mile during 2015 with the lowest rate in the Northeast with 73.7 incidents per square mile.

• In 2015, 29 percent of cities experienced five or more rounds of gunfire per incident, and 10 percent logged nine or more rounds per incident.

• There were 144.7 incidents per square mile in 2014 compared with 123.2 incidents per square mile in 2015.

Our goal in making the 2015 National Gunfire Index available is to spark a more informed discussion on the full nature of gun violence beyond homicides and non-fatal shootings, and also to demonstrate the successes many of our agency partners are able to generate in reducing gun violence in an objective and measureable way.

For more information on the 2015 SST National Gunfire index and to download our corresponding eBook, go to this link SST National Gunfire Index.

March 01, 2016By: Ralph A. Clark, President & CEO

About ShotSpotter, Inc.
ShotSpotter, Inc. is the global leader in gunfire detection and location technology providing the most trusted, scalable and reliable gunfire alert and analysis solutions available today.